Vitamin K and Thrombotest values in full term infants

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Pediatric Hematology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Vitamin K is essential for synthesizing blood clotting factors.
• Neonates, particularly breastfed infants, are at risk for vitamin K deficiency.
• Thrombotest is a functional assay for vitamin K dependent clotting factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of vitamin K prophylaxis on vitamin K dependent clotting factors in healthy term neonates.
• To compare the effects of vitamin K in breastfed versus bottle-fed infants.

Main Methods:

• Measured vitamin K dependent clotting factors using Thrombotest in 72 healthy term neonates on day 2 of life.
• Infants were categorized by feeding method (breastfed/bottle-fed) and vitamin K prophylaxis status (received/not received at birth).
• Serial Thrombotest values were assessed in 18 breastfed infants from day 0 to day 2.

Main Results:

• Untreated breastfed infants had significantly lower Thrombotest values compared to vitamin K treated infants.
• Vitamin K administration did not alter Thrombotest values in bottle-fed infants.
• A significant drop in Thrombotest values was observed in untreated breastfed infants between day 0 and day 2, which was prevented by vitamin K prophylaxis.

Conclusions:

• Vitamin K prophylaxis is essential for breastfed neonates to maintain adequate levels of vitamin K dependent clotting factors.
• Bottle-fed infants may have sufficient vitamin K from their diet, negating the need for routine prophylaxis.
• Untreated breastfed infants are at risk for sub-optimal clotting factor levels, potentially increasing bleeding risk.